Cuban bishops permitted to give Holy Week radio addresses for first time in 46 years

Holguin, Cuba, Apr 10, 2006 / 12:00 am (CNA).- For
the first time in 46 years, the communist Cuban government has
permitted Catholic bishops in that country to address Catholic faithful
over the radio.

According to the
German organization, Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Emilio
Aranguren, head of the Diocese of Holguin, and Bishop Dionisio Garcia
Ibanez, head of the Diocese of Bayamo-Manzanillo addressed their
respective dioceses with messages for the beginning of Holy Week.

The group said
that when Bishop Aranguren informed faithful at the end of the Chrism
Mass on Saturday, April 8th of the historic event, those in attendance
erupted in a storm of applause and a standing ovation.

ACN quoted the
Bishop as saying, “When I visit the sick in their homes, I realize the
large majority of them pick up foreign radio stations in order to hear
religious messages because they need it for the faith they have and in
order to face the needs that they have in their daily life.”

“For this
reason”, he said, “I have asked the authorities to let me address the
sick in order to encourage them to celebrate the great events in the
life of Jesus Christ: His Passion, Death and Resurrection. God willing,
may I do that every week.”

During his
12-minute radio speech, broadcast on Palm Sunday, the bishop
specifically addressed the elderly, saying: “I want to bring you a
message of consolation, of strength, of hope. I know that you need this
just like all of us. When you hold a Crucifix in your hands or look at
Jesus Christ on the cross, I invite you to renew your trust in Him.”

“You will find”,
he stressed, “a new disposition, a spiritual aptitude to continue to
carry your cross with confidence, bravery, dignity and hope.”